There has been another death in NC. This time it was someone familiar to anyone who has spent time climbing at Pilot. Lloyd Ramsey posted here on RC.com as Rmsyll2 and was a permanent fixture at Pilot.

Very sad indeed. my condolences to his family. I hope to hear what went wrong.

He was the guy who posted lots of photos of various anchors and asked a lot of questions. He seemed to be a very detail-oriented person. He was not very experienced, but I never thought I would see this report.

There has been another death in NC. This time it was someone familiar to anyone who has spent time climbing at Pilot. Lloyd Ramsey posted here on RC.com as Rmsyll2 and was a permanent fixture at Pilot.

Lloyd was a good man. He left us doing what he loved in his heart, and helped many find their climbing heart. He was a real character and never met a stranger. Its hard to imagine this happening to him considering he knew that place crystal by crack. If I find out funeral info, I will pass it along.

He didn't free solo, but he would often rope solo. One article about his death mentions he had some gear on when they found him, but if it was a failure of his grigri (which he used exclusively for soloing), then I would assume that information would have been made public very quickly.

Very often he would not tie into anchors or even put on a harness when near the cliff edges. I've personally seen him do what some, if not most, would consider very dangerous things right at the cliff's edge. I don't mean to say this to denigrate him in any way - I'm just trying to come to terms with and figure out what happened.

Lloyd was an amazing guy. You'd always know he was around by his gregarious laughing, then you'd notice some plaid moving through the trees and down the trail, and then once he noticed you he would immediately say hi and ask about your recent climbs.

I met Lloyd in 2007 while working on a small online guide for Pilot Mountain. He had recently become a regular up at Pilot and had already amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the routes. He provided thorough editing for the guide and humbly gave his opinions on the route descriptions. I asked him if I could add his name to the credits in the guide, but he refused.

Over the years I have met Lloyd up at Pilot countless times. We have climbed routes, walked the cliff together and had many discussions about climbing. We haven’t agreed on everything, but Lloyd’s intensity and singular focus on rock climbing at Pilot were constants throughout. He was incredibly outgoing and social at the cliff - always ready to drop what he was doing and help out climbers that were new to the area. He was a constant source of genuine enthusiasm and encouragement for climbers of all ability levels.

I have a lot of good memories of Lloyd. I remember his backpack – an old, tattered school backpack crammed full with all his rope soloing gear. I remember his first time climbing Crackin’ Up at Pilot and his genuine joy of lay-backing a crack for the first time. I remember watching him scramble up gullies countless times to help some young climbers with their top-rope setup.

I have heard from many climbers today that have good memories of Lloyd. He has shared his enthusiasm and knowledge of Pilot Mountain with countless climbers. Lloyd was a colorful character, and very much a part of the climbing community. He will be missed by many.

I am Lloyd Ramsey's sister, and I wanted to thank the climbing community for its support of Lloyd and for the wonderful comments I have seen about him here and at other sites. He did, indeed, leave this life doing something he loved in a place he adored.

I also wanted to note that, although the investigation into Lloyd's fall is not complete, it is reasonable to think that it was not caused by an error or equipment failure, but by an underlying medical problem.

Again, thank you for your good thoughts, and please continue safe, wonderful, eco-conscious climbing--what Lloyd would most have wanted.

I never knew him in real life, but here on rockclimbing.com Lloyd was always colorful and outspoken. He provided fodder for many interesting conversations, with copious photographs and lots of interest in discussion, particularly about rope climbing anchors. His presence will be missed here by many.

I was lucky enough to meet Lloyd, but only once. His knowledge of Pilot, and climbing was obvious. He was a very nice man, and knew the history of Pilot quite well. He had collected and shared much information over the years. The climbing community, as well as Pilot Mtn. State Park certainly have lost an important figure.

I will say this, for a 70 y/o old man to be able to get out and do what made him happy every day. I'm very happy for him. In the end, he died outdoors, doing what he loved, in a place he loved, where he was loved by many. You can't ask for much more than that. As much as everyone hates to see him go. I say; good for him.

I am Lloyd Ramsey's sister, and I wanted to thank the climbing community for its support of Lloyd and for the wonderful comments I have seen about him here and at other sites. He did, indeed, leave this life doing something he loved in a place he adored.

I also wanted to note that, although the investigation into Lloyd's fall is not complete, it is reasonable to think that it was not caused by an error or equipment failure, but by an underlying medical problem.

Again, thank you for your good thoughts, and please continue safe, wonderful, eco-conscious climbing--what Lloyd would most have wanted.

Your brother helped a lot of people and he always tried to protect Pilot Mountain's natural state. That is very commendable. He will be missed and never forgotten.

I'm deeply saddened by Lloyd's passing and very sorry for your loss. I had met Lloyd awhile back at Pilot, as many of us had, and he immediately treated me as a friend. Not long ago, I introduced a new climbing partner to him on her second time on real rock and Lloyd was instantly willing to help out with valued instruction on safety and moves, and even seemed to delight in setting up anchors for us, or in belaying each other. That's the thing that stood out most about Lloyd was his openness and knowledge, and I would imagine he had made more friends at Pilot in the time he climbed there than about anyone I've known. My partner was deeply saddened by this loss, as was I, and wanted to mention how much she appreciated Lloyd taking the time to help, and being such a warm and hospitable person even though they just met. He had mentioned some health problems to me and it makes sense that it was likely the cause of the accident. He was quite experienced and always focused on safety so this news was quite a surprise. He left us doing what he loved though, and that offers us a sense of peace.

As a side note, many thanks to the park rangers/staff that aided in the recovery and search.